Chapter 2329 — Back to the Villa

"It won't kill you, but you must take an antidote once a year to keep it suppressed—otherwise you'll die in agony, worse agony than any you've enjoyed before," Wei Zhao explained.

"Oh. All right." Having heard Wei Zhao out, Brother Dafeng nodded and, without the slightest hesitation, took the poison pill from his hand and swallowed it down—no dawdling, no fuss at all, which left Wei Zhao somewhat taken aback.

"You've taken it—aren't you afraid I won't give you the antidote?" Wei Zhao asked, surprised.

"If I do my work well, why would Brother Eagle withhold the antidote?" Brother Dafeng said, perfectly composed. "From now on I'll throw everything into gathering intelligence for Brother Eagle, do my utmost to become the head of the poison-refining base—Brother Eagle won't treat me shabbily."

"Good that you can see it that way." Wei Zhao nodded, satisfied. "If you truly give it your all, I certainly won't treat you shabbily in future. Your promotion to early Earth-rank is only the beginning—in time I'll make you mid Earth-rank, even late Earth-rank, and in the end, stepping into Heaven-rank isn't out of the question!"

Once Wei Zhao became a Heaven-rank expert, everyone around him could well become peak late Earth-rank masters—this was no idle promise meant to stave off hunger.

What Wei Zhao hadn't expected was that Brother Dafeng would truly set his heart on following him. It caught him off guard. The reason he'd shown his real face earlier was that he was about to feed Brother Dafeng the poison pill; from then on the man would be his subordinate, and there was no need to keep hiding—letting him know his true identity would only make things easier.

Now it seemed Wei Zhao had underestimated Brother Dafeng's ambition. The man had an eye for things!

In truth, Brother Dafeng's eye was only natural. Wei Zhao had crippled the Third Master and killed off the Third Master's men, yet came back hale and hearty—even a fool would know how formidable Wei Zhao was. And Wei Zhao was truly generous: one gesture and there was a Minor Qi-Gathering Pill. In all his years at Red Conch, Brother Dafeng had never once obtained a pill that fine!

Of course, part of it was that Red Conch had no one skilled in pill refinement; and on the other hand, few dared use the biochemical agents the Fire Wolf Gang produced! Apart from the Fire Wolf inheritance serum, which was relatively mature and stable, the rest were all experimental. Who would dare use them recklessly?

So Brother Dafeng reckoned there was little future at Red Conch; better to switch masters and follow Wei Zhao. For a cultivator of his level, money no longer mattered all that much—higher realms of power were the pursuit of a lifetime.

"Thank you for your kindness, Brother Eagle!" Brother Dafeng said, suddenly overcome with excitement.

"My real name is Wei Zhao. Once the Minor Qi-Gathering Pill arrives, I'll be leaving. From then on, contact me directly and only through me," Wei Zhao said.

"Wei Zhao... ah! You're Wei Zhao!" Brother Dafeng gave a violent start. He leapt up from his chair, eyes wide, speechless.

"What is it?" Wei Zhao frowned.

"Nothing... I'd heard the Yu family of the secular world was wiped out for offending you. And that Red Conch's Second Master was taken away by you..." Brother Dafeng knew a few secrets too. "Most of all, one of the Fire Wolf Gang's Protectors came off the worse for tangling with you..."

"Oh? You know quite a lot. Correct—it was me," Wei Zhao said. "Since you know all this, and know of the enmity between me and Red Conch and the Fire Wolf Gang, you should understand what to do from here on."

"I understand. I'll do my utmost to raise my standing within Red Conch. I'll charge into the thick of it for you, Brother Eagle!" Brother Dafeng pledged, striking his chest.

Wei Zhao nodded. Combining kindness with severity, he had succeeded in winning Brother Dafeng over—and planted a nail inside Red Conch for the future! Wei Zhao knew as well that tracking down news of the Pangolin could not be rushed; it must be done step by step. Especially since Red Conch headquarters still had a Heaven-rank expert holding the fort—Wei Zhao had to be all the more careful. Without a foolproof plan, he could not act rashly!

True, the Third Master, a peak late Earth-rank expert, was weak—not even as formidable as Tagan Long—but Wei Zhao could not afford to underestimate that Heaven-rank master of his.

Two days later, Wei Zhao received the Minor Qi-Gathering Pill Han Xiaopo had mailed him, and again summoned Brother Dafeng to hand it over.

By now Brother Dafeng had received a firm assurance from his backer: if he truly had the Minor Qi-Gathering Pill and could smoothly advance to Earth-rank, then he could take the seat of top boss at the Red Conch branch.

The news left Brother Dafeng both startled and delighted, and the Qi-Gathering Pill Wei Zhao gave him was joy upon joy!

Brother Dafeng had never imagined he would become an Earth-rank expert so smoothly. With the Minor Qi-Gathering Pill in his hand at this moment, he could already feel himself on the verge of breaking through!

"Thank you, Brother Eagle!" Brother Dafeng bowed deeply to Wei Zhao. "From now on I'll gladly dash my brains out and spill my liver for you—nothing will be too much!"

"Never mind dashing your brains out. Just keep yourself safe and don't die—I'm still counting on you to find that man," Wei Zhao said.

"Yes. Rest assured, Brother Eagle, I'll keep my identity well hidden," Brother Dafeng said hastily.

"That photograph I showed you before—don't let it slip out. But if you get the chance, help me find out whether there's any word of this person at the poison-refining base!" Wei Zhao said.

"Understood." Brother Dafeng would of course carry out Wei Zhao's orders to the letter.

"All right, take care. You have your things, and I should be going." Wei Zhao clapped Brother Dafeng on the shoulder. Anxious about matters at home, he could not linger.

After bidding Brother Dafeng farewell, Wei Zhao got into the Grand Cherokee and drove off toward home with Sun Jingyan...

The journey back was uneventful. Wei Zhao returned to Donghai City without a hitch, first dropping Sun Jingyan at the hotel where she had stayed before, then driving back to the villa in the Xueshang residential compound.

Wei Zhao had not taken Sun Jingyan straight home; he had to discuss it with Uncle Qing and Granny Sun first. The matter was too weighty for him to decide on his own.

It was daytime when Wei Zhao reached the villa. Gu Mengyao and the others were all at school attending classes; at home there were only Granny Sun, Wu Chengtian, Pi Zhishan, and Old Master Pi. Pi Zhihai had just been brought to Donghai City but had not moved into the villa—he was staying at the nearby Xueshang Business Hotel.

After all, Old Master Pi could hardly lodge his whole household of invalids in Wei Zhao's home.

Wu Chengtian and Old Master Pi were injured, so Pi Zhishan had become the eldest miss's temporary bodyguard, responsible for driving them to and from school each day and minding his grandfather and Wu Chengtian at the villa by day. When he heard the sound of a car at the villa gate, Pi Zhishan paid it no mind at first—but then the doorbell rang, and he started! (To be continued.)RQ

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